1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid cutoff system that prevents fluid flow through a hose in response to a given amount of water being deposited in an area.
2. Background of the Prior Art
When watering a lawn or similar area, it is desirable to stop the watering process after a desired amount of water has been deposited on the lawn in order to reduce the necessary consumption of water. This desired amount of water to be deposited can come from the watering process itself or from rain. If a person is attending to the watering process, terminating the process is straightforward. Oftentimes, however, the person watering the lawn turns the system on and attends to other matters, many times leaving the system on unnecessarily for hours.
In order to eliminate the necessary watering of lawns, cutoff systems and moisture management systems have been proposed. Exemplary of such systems are U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,122 to Erickson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,886 to Mann, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,939 to Pulgiese, U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,165 to Lloyd, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,498 to Andrews et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,446 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,530 to Yi, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,133 to Huwe. These and other systems which teach a number of variations of cutoff systems, each have one or more drawbacks. Many of the prior art systems are complex to manufacture or install making their widespread use less likely. Other systems, rely on the use of electricity which is unappealing to many who do not want to combine an electrical component in a water management system. Furthermore, the use of electricity may require the use of a professional installer.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a fluid cutoff system that terminates fluid flow through a house upon a predetermined amount of fluid being deposited in a given area that overcomes the drawbacks associated with current state of the art systems. Such a cutoff system must be of relatively simple design and construction and must be relatively easy to install and must not depend on the use of electricity for functionality.